Anomalies
by OpossumGuy
Summary: After leaving Alola following the UB Incident, Anabel and Looker return to the International Police HQ, only to immediately be tasked with another mission, this time in Kanto.


The lighting at Sushi High Roller could have been better. With that, there was no doubt. And yet, thought Looker, it failed to detract from the taste of the food. Looker, naturally, saw the quality of the food as the most important aspect of a restaurant. Atmosphere was never much of a concern when one's line of work requires one to be constantly on the go. Take-out is a staple of the diet of an International Police agent.

And yet for however often he'd simply get his food and leave, Looker couldn't help but relish in the fact that he had time to actually enjoy a meal, for once.

"Don't worry about the bill, Mr. Looker. I took care of it," said a purple haired woman in a black suit. She sat down opposite the trench coat-clad agent and resumed eating.

"But Ms. Anabel," Looker said between bites, "they haven't even brought out the dessert yet!"

She chuckled a bit to herself at Looker's one-track thought process. "I know. It's just so we can enjoy it without stressing over the bill, is all."

"Dare I ask how much it came to?"

"More than you'd hope, but less than you'd expect," Anabel said, taking a bite of sushi. "I used some of my extra Battle Tree funds. It covered most of the cost."

"I'd love to try out the Battle Tree," Looker said. "Why, I'd sweep the floor with every challenger, even the Battle Legends themselves!" Looker's bravado caught the attention of the other patrons, with some giving quizzical glances. "That is, if...well, you know."

"Yes, I'm fairly certain they won't let you in without some Pokémon," Anabel said with a smirk. "Let me be the first to say that there were some promising trainers there. It felt...nostalgic, in a way." Anabel closed her eyes and smiled wistfully.

"Speaking of nostalgia, this Sushi High Roller is quite like the one I'd visited in Kalos," said Looker. "The staff are much friendlier here in Alola though."

"They certainly are friendly," said Anabel. Their desserts had arrived and she and Looker thanked the waiter. "This whole vacation has been wonderful."

"Yes, it's a shame it must end so soon," said Looker whilst stuffing his face.

"I'm just glad they gave us a vacation at all," said Anabel. "Though it was more than warranted after our last mission."

The UB Mission. Several UBs, or Ultra Beasts, had appeared through rifts in space time around the Alola region. Looker and Anabel, with aid provided by Alola's champion, were able to stop the UBs from potentially destroying the islands, or worse. The International Police had permitted the duo to stay in Alola for a while for vacation purposes, but tomorrow they would board a ship back to headquarters for the mandated debriefing and paperwork.

Finishing their desserts, the two left the restaurant and walked toward the harbor.

"Who knew a sushi place, of all places, would have such good malasadas?" asked Looker. "If I eat just one more, I'll end up looking like one!" he said with a laugh.

Anabel returned the laugh. "If it makes you feel better, I packed away more than I'd care to admit. Black just happens to be really slimming!"

After a quick ferry ride, the two arrived in Hau'Oli City on Melemele Island, walked to their hotel, and went to sleep.

Once morning arrived, Anabel made haste for the Hau'Oli Marina once more, Looker trailing behind her.

"I got us one last round of malasadas for the trip," he said while lifting a small shopping bag. "That, and a small souvenir." He stuck the small carved totem onto his keychain and grinned. "Do you have everything?"

"Yes, Mr. Looker. All that's left is to board the ship." Anabel flashed her ticket to the clerk, who waved her onward. Looker did the same.

"Alola, Alola!" Looker yelled as he waved goodbye to the island region. "Back to business, eh?" he said, turning to Anabel.

The voyage back was uncharacteristically uneventful. After about ten hours the ship docked at the port: Unity Pier, the Unova region.

"And here's our next stop, ladies and gentlemen," said the tour guide's voice over the loudspeaker. "Unity Tower! Connecting the world through international diplomacy. Remember, no photography is permitted inside the building. Our ship leaves in two hours, so go enjoy yourselves!"

"I hope the irony of taking a pleasure cruise to get back to our station isn't lost on you," said Looker to his colleague.

"Worry not, Mr. Looker," reassured Anabel. "At least we got a wonderful view." The two stepped off the ship and approached the building. Unity Tower was a colossal structure; it was easily the tallest building in the Unova region, if not the world.

Upon entering the building, Looker and Anabel rushed for the elevator, forcing themselves to ignore the sights. Had they not ignored them, they'd have noticed the tower's impeccable decor, with ornate fountains and brilliant paintings adorning the foyer. The doorman stationed next to the elevator greeted them.

"Welcome to Unity Tower! Where would you two like to go this morning?"

"The roof, please," said Anabel.

"I'm afraid that's off limits, ma'am," replied the man.

Discretely, Anabel produced an identification card. Across the top, in bold letters, was written "International Police." Looker showed his as well.

"Someone is expecting us there," Anabel said with a smile.

The doorman looked flustered and quickly put in the authorization code for roof access. "So sorry to keep you waiting," he said.

"Not at all," Looker said. "Carefulness...it's beside godliness, no?"

The two went up. Looker turned to Anabel on the way. "Is my Unovan still decent?" he asked.

"Perfectly fine, Mr. Looker," said Anabel. "Much better than your Orresian, anyway."

The elevator dinged and the two arrived at the rooftop. Two armed guardsmen stood beside a small heliport, which held a black helicopter, blades whirring rapidly.

"Agents Looker and Anabel," said one guard. "Enjoy your flight. We leave now for headquarters." The duo nodded in agreement and boarded the helicopter.

One in-flight magazine and several hours later, the helicopter entered the secure airspace. The headquarters of the International Police came into view. The agency was landlocked and its region was undisclosed to the general public, making direct naval transport impossible. The sprawling campus was picturesque. Looker and Anabel hadn't the time to savor the view, though. They exited the helicopter upon landing and went straight to their superior.

The President of the International Police.

A gentlemanly figure, the head of the international organization sat in a chair surrounded by paperwork. Missing persons files, mission briefings, everything. Between his mountain of papers he spotted the two agents in his doorway.

"Ah, Mr. Looker! Ms. Anabel! You both look well," he said. "I trust Alola has been treating you well?"

"It was a wonderful place, sir," said Anabel.

"We very much appreciated you giving us time to relax," added Looker.

"You two are some of our finest; think nothing of it," he said. "That being said, it's back to business I'm afraid."

"Of course, sir," said Anabel.

"Yes. Now, concerning your report on..." he started before stopping to make sure the door was closed, "the UBs..."

"We have the file right here, sir," said Looker, producing a manila envelope from his coat. He placed it on the desk.

The president slid the file toward himself and glanced at its contents. "And you're absolutely certain that this...child...can handle taking care of these beasts?"

"We have the utmost confidence when it comes to the champion's skills," said Anabel. "The child's Pokémon are incredibly strong, a testament to their trainer's abilities."

"Above all else, I trust your judgement, you two," said the president. "With that, I think our UB Taskforce has completed its mission. That being said, I'm impressed by how well you two work together, so for the time being I'll continue your partnership over your next few missions. You're dismissed. I'll send you the briefing as soon as your new mission is decided."

"Yes sir," said both Looker and Anabel.

The duo turned to leave the office, only for the president to speak once more.

"Mr. Looker, a moment please?"

Looker, flustered, turned to Anabel.

"Go ahead," she said. "We'll catch up at the cafe." She shot him a smile and continued walking.

Looker shut the door behind him and turned to the president. "Yes?" he said.

"I wanted to personally thank you for keeping Ms. Anabel safe, what with her being a faller and all."

"Yes..." Looker said. "It was...no trouble at all, sir."

"These are changing times, Mr. Looker. Megalomaniacal organizations bent on bringing about these...abominations...from other dimensions..." the president continued, "we're often the people's last line of defense. The stalwart mountain, ever unyielding to the tides of fate."

"That's certainly poetic," said Looker.

"I know you're still upset about the, uh, incident," the president said, trying to form his words carefully, "from ten years back."

"It still weighs on my mind, yes," Looker said, looking toward the floor. "I made certain the same wouldn't happen to Ms. Anabel."

"Very well, lad," said the president with a soft smile. "Just know that we have resources here for you. If ever you need to talk, someone will be here."

"Thank you, sir. That's very kind." Looker motioned for the door, as if awkwardly asking permission to leave. The president nodded and Looker went off to the cafe.

Anabel was waiting for him at a small table, a small bowl of soup and a sandwich beside her. Looker rushed to the table carrying his own sandwich before tearing into it.

"Everything okay, Mr. Looker?" she asked. "There's no need to rush."

"Yes? Oh...oh." Looker looked down at the carnage he'd inflicted upon his sandwich. The three globs of mustard splattered across his shirt showed him it didn't go down without a fight. "What a hard boiled mess..." he added.

"Fret not," Anabel said as she sent out her Alakazam from its ball. "Alakazam, please help out our friend. Use Psychic to lift the mustard off!"

The Psychic Pokémon's eyes glowed with a vibrant blue hue as it lifted its spoons skyward. As it did, the cumbersome condiment was hoisted off of Looker's clothing without a hint of a stain. Satisfied with her partner's work, Anabel returned Alakazam to its Ultra Ball.

"Thank you, Ms. Anabel," said Looker. "That was careless of me."

"You're stressed, Mr. Looker," said Anabel with a sigh.

Looker tensed up at her words. Was she a psychic as well? Did her Alakazam do something? How did she realize?

"You always did wear your emotions on your sleeves...though wearing your mustard is new even for you," she said with a laugh.

"My emotions...they've outed me, have they?" Looker asked.

"If anything's wrong, you can talk to me about it," she told him. "You don't need to bottle things up."

"The UB mission brought back some...unpleasant memories."

Anabel took a bite of her sandwich. "Was it about Croagunk?"

Croagunk. The mission ten years back wasn't the only time he'd lost someone close to him. That day. The day of the raid...it was supposed to be a routine operation. Croagunk took a fatal blow meant for Looker, and the rest was history.

"I miss Croagunk," Looker said with a frown. He, of course, knew the real reason the UB mission startled him, but he couldn't let Anabel know. Not yet.

"I'm sure you do," Anabel said, placing a consoling hand on Looker's shoulder. "I couldn't imagine losing someone that close to me."

A Chatot flew down next to the two and squawked.

"Office! Office!" it screeched. A note was attached to its feet. Looker removed the note and read it. It was a memo. The president wanted both him and Anabel in his office. Their next mission had arrived.

After walking back to the office, Looker and Anabel were greeted by the president, surrounded by rather nervous looking scientists.

"Ms. Anabel, Mr. Looker," said the president, "you're heading to Cinnabar Island. Something...anomalous has occurred."

The ship wouldn't arrive in Vermillion City for another day. In the mean time, Looker and Anabel were settling into their room.

"Islands," Looker muttered. "Do you think something about them happens to attract anomalies, Chief?"

Anabel chuckled to herself. "Mr. Looker, just Anabel is fine. I wasn't named Chief for this mission, after all. We're equals."

Looker smiled. "That eases things. For the sake of equality, just Looker is fine. There's not as much formality needed when it's just us, yes?"

"Of course," Anabel said, "Looker." She chuckled to herself. She and Looker were always professional in their relationship, but through it all they each considered each other friends. Best friends, even. Their jobs often forced them to be detached from people at times, yet there was clearly a sense of closeness between them. This just made things easier.

"Now, about my island theory," Looker started, eliciting a laugh from his partner.

"The big thing stopping your theory is that this...whatever it is, isn't an Ultra Beast," said Anabel. "At least, not from what they could tell on the readings."

"I'm uncertain if that's for the better or worse."

"I'm in the same boat."

"Literally," said Looker.

Smirking, Anabel lightly punched Looker in the arm.

"Punch-for-pun rule is still in effect, you know," she told him.

"Haha, fair enough," said Looker. He enjoyed these moments of peace, however brief. His was a rocky world, one in which he was always heading from one job to the next with hardly a moment's rest. As soon as the ship docked in Vermillion Harbor, it would be all business, after all. Dangerous business.

The plan was simple enough, at least. Land in Vermillion, head to Cerulean Cape to meet with the contact, and then board a ship to Cinnabar Island to take care of the anomaly. After that it was a matter of waiting for an extraction at the rendezvous point. Then they'd just return to HQ and await their next mission.

It was getting late once again, and the International Police's stinginess was starting to show...they could only afford a single bed.

"Worry not, Anabel. The floor will suffice for me!" Looker announced without a second thought.

"Are you sure?" asked Anabel. "I mean, it's not necess-"

"Say no more, I insist! The carpeting is incredibly soft, after all."

Smiling, Anabel gave in and got into the bed, turning off the bedside lamp. "Goodnight, Looker."

A rift. Could it be?

Anabel investigated, descending from the Battle Tower. Surely something was amiss.

It got closer. It moved.

She screamed, but no sound emerged.

The tower faded. The lush flowers dissipated from view, leaving behind a barren field of gray. And then light.

Wet. Coarse sand. Salt.

Sirens.

Anabel jolted out of bed with a shriek. Looker awoke; his sleep already uneasy from using his suitcase as a makeshift pillow.

"Is everything alright, Anabel?"

Her chest was heaving. She broke out in a sweat.

"I'm...fine, actually."

Looker stood up and brought a chair over to Anabel's bedside, sitting down on it soon after.

"I should think not." He reached for his suitcase and took out a small washcloth. Dabbing it on Anabel's forehead to dry the sweat, Looker sighed. "What was scaring you?"

Anabel looked down. "I'm...not sure. My memories...they're still unclear, but I think I...remembered something."

"What was it?"

"I...still don't know. It was over so suddenly, yet it felt so real. Like...like I was being pulled away from something. Something important."

"So you can't recall what it was, but you knew it was important..."

Looker wished Anabel had captured a Musharna as her Psychic Pokémon of choice. Dream analysis came much easier to them, he'd heard. Now wasn't the time for these thoughts, though, he realized. That wouldn't help Anabel's peace of mind.

"I'm sure the answer will come to you sooner or later," Looker said in an attempt to console his partner. "Stressing over it will only hinder you."

Anabel sighed and cupped her hands over her face briefly, slumping back into the bed. "If only it were so easy..."

"Life isn't always easy," said Looker, "especially with your case, from what I can assume. Regardless, I'll remain steadfast in my support of you. I know you can get through it unscathed."

Anabel smiled. "Thank you, Looker. It truly means a lot. I didn't mean to wake you."

"Nonsense," said Looker. "Think nothing of it. I can't just let my partner suffer in silence." Pleased with his work, Looker returned the chair to its rightful spot and regained his sleeping spot on the floor. "Let me know if you need anything else."

To Looker's surprise, Anabel was already asleep once more. He smiled before falling asleep himself.

The next morning, the ship pulled into Vermillion Harbor, right on time. Looker and Anabel had gathered their belongings and left the ship, breathing in the salty air of the harbor.

"Kanto at last," said Anabel with a stretch. "Feeling okay, Looker?"

"My legs are...still adjusting," said Looker, carefully avoiding a plunge into the briny sea due to his wobbly knees. He regained composure and smiled. It'd been so long since he was last in Kanto.

"So from here," Anabel began, pulling out a map, "we continue north. Cerulean Cape is one of the northernmost points in Kanto, and we need to pass through both Saffron and Cerulean City to get there." Anabel tucked away the map. "Or, more simply..."

Looker looked quizzically at her as she took out an Ultra Ball. She tossed it into the air, and out popped her Salamence, expelling fire from its jaws as it descended to the ground. Anabel then climbed atop the drake and turned to Looker.

"Hop aboard!" she said to her awestruck partner.

"Can...can it even carry two people?" Looker asked, eyes glued to the crescent-winged beast before him.

"It's only a short flight from here to the Cape. If it were a longer flight I'd say no, but this should be fine," said Anabel. "Right, Salamence?"

Her Salamence nodded, turning to Looker.

"Well, alright then," he said as he clumsily boarded the dragon. "Make haste, Salamence!" Looker proclaimed.

Salamence ascended and soared swiftly toward Cerulean Cape. From the sky, Anabel and Looker gazed at the region below. They passed by Saffron City, home of the famous Silph Co. HQ. Looker knew the place all too well from his investigation into Team Rocket, well, more than a decade ago now. Cerulean City was the next to fly by beneath them. Finally, they flew over the Nugget Bridge and Cerulean Cape, landing in a small field beside the water.

Anabel returned Salamence to its ball and observed the surrounding area. It was a quiet day at the cape. No young couples today, oddly. That made things easier, so neither Anabel nor Looker complained. The less people get suspicious, the better. Beside the Cape was a small cottage. This was undoubtedly the home of their contact.

The duo approached the door and knocked thrice. The door opened, revealing a man with messy hair, wearing a polo and khakis.

"Are you, by chance, Mr. Bill Sonezaki?" asked Anabel.

"Yes ma'am," said Bill with slight hesitation. "Who might you be?"

"We're with the International Police. We were told you knew something about the anomaly on Cinnabar Island."

"Is everything okay?" came a woman's voice from inside Bill's cottage. Behind him appeared a blonde woman with piercing green eyes and pristine white clothes.

"It's nothing to worry about, Lusamine," Bill said reassuringly. "Come right in, you two."

Looker gave Anabel a look. They were, of course, aware that Ms. Lusamine was staying with Bill for her treatment, as Ms. Wicke had told them as such. At the same time, actually seeing her act so cordial after nearly bringing about the destruction of Alola and possibly the world at large was...a lot to take in. Surreal, even.

Looker and Anabel took a seat on Bill's sofa as he placed two cups of tea of the small table in front of them.

"I take it your organization sent you. The International Police," said Bill as he stirred his own tea.

"That's correct," said Anabel, smirking a bit. "We'd said as much when we arrived."

Bill ceased stirring, his face red. "Right, how silly of me."

Sensing that Bill felt awkward around strangers, Looker tried to move the conversation along.

"Mr. Sonezaki."

"Please, just Bill is fine."

"...Bill," Looker said, correcting himself, "how did the anomaly become known to you?"

"Well, are you aware of what I do?" Bill asked, meekly.

"We understand you work with the PC storage system. Or, rather, you invented it," said Anabel, sipping her tea. Pinap Tea was delicious, but had a spicy aftertaste.

"Yes...yes." Bill cleared his throat. "Naturally then, most of my day to day work involves acting as technical support for all Pokémon Centers hosting one of my storage systems. Well the other day, the Cinnabar location was on the fritz."

"Didn't Cinnabar's volcano erupt?" asked Looker. "The Center is still standing?"

"The Pokémon Center itself has since been rebuilt," said Bill. "A lot can change in eight or so years."

"So what was wrong?" asked Anabel.

"Something was shorting it out. The display was set completely off kilter, the Hall of Fame database had to be manually restored..." Bill said. "In retrospect, it would probably have been easier to just give them a new system."

"To be fair," said Looker, "couldn't that have been caused by any number of issues?"

Bill's glare could have melted Regice itself. "Sir, my machines don't just stop working. The measures I went through for quality assurance would put even Silph itself to shame."

"I...apologize," said Looker, sheepishly.

"It's...quite alright," said Bill. "I lost my cool there for a moment." He sipped his tea. "Nevertheless, even if it was just something wrong with the machine, that combined with the sightings would have made me reconsider."

"Sightings?" inquired Anabel.

"Ah, yes, pardon me for getting ahead of myself. Cinnabar Island has been a hotspot for fishermen for decades, even after the eruption. The oceanic Pokémon found there are second to none. One of them was surfing along the coast on his Dewgong when all of a sudden, as he stated, a strange creature attacked him."

"Strange, how so?" asked Looker.

"It didn't keep a solid shape. It took on appearances of skeletal Pokémon remains, and later that of a ghost. Most of the time, however, it kept the form of an amorphous mass of...eldritch substances."

Anabel turned to Looker and mouthed the words "UB," questioningly and silently. Looker shrugged, dumbfounded.

"There are, of course, rumors surrounding the beast. Local myth has it that the beast was what caused the volcano on the island to erupt, and that it brings whatever it comes in contact with to a greater state of chaos. By all means, something Lovecraftian."

"Thank you, Bill," said Anabel. "We'll investigate at once." As Looker and Anabel made for the door, it opened, and in the doorway stood a young girl between twelve and thirteen years of age.

"Mother, look," she called out. "I caught a Clef...oh," she noticed the two officers in the living room. "So sorry to intrude," she said.

"It's quite all right, Lillie," said Bill. "They're just acquaintances of mine." He shot a smile at Anabel and Looker.

"Yes, and we were actually on our way out," said Anabel. "Take care, everyone."

She and Looker left the cottage at last and once again boarded Salamence.

While soaring en route to Cinnabar, Looker smirked.

"Something amusing you?" asked Anabel.

"Bill called us acquaintances," said Looker. "We'd barely met though."

"He probably wanted to quell any fear Lusamine's daughter may have had for her mother. Two IP agents showing up at one's home is enough cause for alarm, given the circumstances."

"She wouldn't think we'd do that, right? Tear families apart like that?"

Anabel sighed. "Ideally she wouldn't have reason to, but if I grew up in this day and age I'd likely think the same thing. I know I'd never be a part of something like that, though."

"Me neither," said Looker. He looked downward. They were passing over the Seafoam Islands. "I believe we should be arriving soon."

"Cinnabar is dead ahead," signaled Anabel. "Prepare for landing."

Salamence descended upon the island, kicking up dust with its powerful wings as it landed. The duo hopped off as Anabel returned the dragon to its ball.

After securing a perimeter around the coastline and urging the island's citizens to stay inside, Looker and Anabel stood watch, the former lost in thought. If this thing was, in fact, here, it either wasn't an Ultra Beast or for some reason didn't mind Anabel's presence.

The air was deathly still, save for the sound of waves pelting the rocky coastline. Anabel peered through her binoculars yet again.

"Still nothing on my end. How about you?"

Looker sighed. "Nothing," he said. "Do you think it was a false alarm?"

"Honestly? No," she said. "Bill's testimony really rang true for me."

"Perhaps it's shy," said Looker. "I've been told I can be quite intimidating at times. It's a curse, really." He smirked, barely able to keep a straight face.

Anabel chuckled. "I'm sure that's it, Looker."

"Hold that thought," Looker said, peering once more into the binoculars. "There's movement under those waves."

Anabel quietly reached for Alakazam's Poké Ball while Looker kept watch. The latter stood astonished as an entire section of the ocean seemed to slowly dissipate, leaving behind empty air.

"Looks like we may have company," said Looker.

Slowly, out from the sea emerged an odd creature. It seemed like an odd mix of organic and synthetic materials, amorphous in appearance, and quite similar to what Bill described. It made a faint and ever-present screeching noise, droning incessantly as it made its way to shore.

"Alakazam, come out!" yelled Anabel as she released her Psychic Pokémon from its Poké Ball. The yellow and brown humanoid Pokémon held its two spoons in front of itself, ready to attack.

Looker went to his satchel and tried to retrieve some battle items to aid Anabel. He had no Pokémon of his own, after all, and the time didn't call for more...lethal measures. The creature turned to Looker and stared. Rather, Looker assumed it was staring. It didn't have anything that resembled eyes. Suddenly, Looker's satchel started glowing as well, and out from it poured almost one hundred malasadas.

"I swear I only had one in there," said Looker to Anabel. She had tangled with otherworldly beasts before, but the mountain of pastries piled up around Looker was the first thing to leave her truly dumbfounded.

Snapping back to the task at hand, Anabel commanded Alakazam to use Shadow Ball. The beast looked like it might be a Ghost type, Anabel thought. However, Alakazam's attack had no effect, confirming the beast was at least partly Normal type, if it was a Pokémon at all.

"So it can duplicate things and mess with electronics, as well as warp the space around it," said Looker. "I wouldn't want to go near it."

"Good thing we don't have to," said Anabel. "Alakazam, use Psychic!"

Alakazam's eyes glowed blue, and so too did its spoons. It lifted its arms and the anomalous creature grew a blue aura around it and stated lifting skyward, taking damage from the strain Alakazam was putting on it. It was a direct hit.

Looker pulled out the Anomaly Dex, a device the International Police had custom made for the UB Taskforce. It was a machine capable of safely analyzing a creature's biological makeup from a distance, coming in handy in times like this. If an anomaly had been recorded previously, it would give the user all known information regarding it.

"It's scanning," he said.

"Any result? What does it say?"

The beast approached Looker slightly and the device started to spark, leaving an error message. "Error. MissingNo.," said Looker.

"Fantastic," said Anabel. "The boss is going to kill us for breaking that. Alakazam, keep it up!"

The creature then sprayed a stream of seawater toward the duo. Water Gun? A creature this immensely powerful knew a relatively weak move like Water Gun? Perhaps the move worked differently in whatever world this thing came from.

And then it just stopped.

"What do you think it's doing?" asked Looker.

The creature then started to glow in a harsh light. Anabel's eyes grew wide as she came to the realization.

"Sky Attack," she muttered. "Looker, get down!" she yelled as she tackled him to the ground. The creature came barreling toward them, dropping from the sky at a speed uncharacteristic of it.

"I guess this is the end," said Looker. "It was a pleasure working with you, Anabel," he said, wincing.

"Same to you," she replied.

When all hope for the duo making it out alive seemed lost, Alakazam jumped in front of its trainer and her partner and used Protect, the blue protective bubble shielding them.

Anabel and Looker dusted themselves off and got safely out of the way, but they noticed something. Alakazam's Protect was fading away, likely due to the opposing beast's power. It then fully wore away, and although the impact was lessened, Alakazam was still hit with the enemy's Sky Attack. Recoiling backwards, Alakazam grasped its forehead, injured. Looker moved through the malasada mountain to find a Full Restore.

"Here, for Alakazam," said Looker as he handed the medicinal spray to Anabel.

"Could you do me an additional favor?" she asked. "I need you to hand me the thing we discussed. For contingency plan."

"Lethal or non-lethal contingency plan?" asked Looker.

"Non-lethal," said Anabel. "The creature injured itself by using Sky Attack. Sky Attack doesn't cause recoil damage in normal Pokémon. It's incredibly frail."

Looker nodded and tossed Anabel a small stone. She, in turn, tossed it to Alakazam, who levitated it using telekinesis. Anabel then snapped on a bracelet holding a Key Stone.

"All right, Alakazam. Mega Evolve!"

In a burst of light, Alakazam merged with the Alakazite and became Mega Alakazam, its two spoons becoming five and its facial hair developing into a magnificent beard.

"Now, Alakazam. Psychic!"

Alakazam did as instructed, and thanks to its improved psychic powers, the beast took tremendous damage.

Looker rummaged through this bag once more, finding the last item needed.

"This should do it," he said, tossing one of the few remaining Beast Balls left over from the Alola crisis directly toward the creature.

The ball clicked. The beast had been apprehended.

Anabel and Looker, near breathless from the encounter, looked at each other and smiled. Another job was complete.

...

"How's the write-up coming along?" asked Anabel, entering the hotel room carrying two coffees.

Looker was typing away on his laptop. "Pretty well, I'd say. I'm almost done."

Anabel peered over his shoulder. "Anomalous Monster 00: MissingNo.," she read aloud. "AM 00's appearance somewhat resembles a foam finger one might buy at a sporting event, but missing a thumb." She smirked. "You certainly have a way with words."

"I wasn't sure how else to describe it," said Looker with a laugh.

"The name's fitting enough, at least."

"Despite it just being the error message? I'll admit I had a bit of writer's block there."

"Considering how it messes with technology and holds no single physical shape, I think an error message makes a fine name," said Anabel. "HQ received it, by the way. Sent me an email about it, too."

"Everything fine?"

"It's doing well in captivity, surprisingly. It's not trying to escape or anything. They're calling it a living glitch."

"Living glitch?" asked Looker.

"They're theorizing it comes from a reality far different from this one. So much so that it's incompatible with this reality."

"I don't understand," said Looker.

Anabel took a sip of coffee. "You know how creatures that live in the deepest depths of the oceans need high pressure to keep their physical forms, so when they're brought to the surface they get grossly deformed?"

"Yes, I'm familiar with that."

"It's like that. Our reality is so different that it struggles to keep its physical form. That's why its shape shifts, they think," she explained. "Granted, it's not dying, and is instead pretty healthy, or so they imagine. But yes, the living glitch. Something that shouldn't be here, but is, and causes issues with reality because of it."

"I suppose that makes sense," said Looker as he finished typing. "There, all done. I just sent the report to HQ. I suppose they'll want us back soon."

"Actually, they told me we're free to stay for a couple of days, as compensation for almost dying and all."

"Another vacation already?" asked Looker.

"Think of it as a brief reprieve instead," said Anabel. "Two days is hardly a vacation."

"True," said Looker. "Completely off topic, but I hope the Cinnabar Islanders enjoyed those malasadas."

"Always thinking about food," said Anabel with a laugh. "There's a Sushi High Roller in Celadon City. Want to go there tomorrow for old time's sake?"

"If I ever answer that with a no," said Looker, "promise me you'll arrest the lookalike for impersonating law enforcement."

"I'll make sure," said Anabel with a wink.

Looker and Anabel had always dealt with cases too strenuous for even the strongest officers of the International Police, and they were even able to solve the Ultra Beast crisis with relative ease, but MissingNo. was the first mission objective in quite some time that left the two with more questions than answers. Worse still, deep down they knew that this likely wouldn't be their final run-in with otherworldly forces of its caliber. Regardless, they knew they could make it through a few more anomalies of this scale. They had each other, and the two made quite the team.


End file.
